LAKEPORT, Calif. – An operation the Lakeport Police Department and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control conducted last week found that a minor was unable to convince adults to purchase alcohol for them at several locations around the city.

The “shoulder tap” operation using a minor decoy took place on the evening of Friday, June 8, according to a Lakeport Police report.

The Shoulder Tap Program is an enforcement program that ABC and local law enforcement agencies use to detect and deter shoulder tap activity.  

During this program, a minor decoy – under the direct supervision of law enforcement officers – solicits adults outside ABC licensed stores to buy the minor decoy alcohol.  

The Minor Decoy Program uses individuals, who are under the age of 20, to attempt to purchase alcoholic beverages at ABC licensed premises.

The minor – or minors, as police did not specify how many they used – contacted seven adult individuals at three different locations and solicited those adults to purchase them alcohol, according to Lakeport Police. No adults contacted purchased the alcohol.

Police said there also was an attempt by a minor decoy to purchase alcohol in six locations within the city of Lakeport and all locations refused service.

The Lakeport Police Department thanked the seven citizens who were contacted and refused to purchase the minor decoy alcohol. The agency also thanked the businesses for following proper procedures and not selling minors alcohol.

This project is part of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Minor decoy/Shoulder Tap Grant Project, funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.